Every now and then, I come across a band and find it impossible to pigeon-hole them into any one genre. Detroit-based trio Almost Free is such a band. As an unsigned band, they self-produced their 2009 release Modern Mistakes, a collection of edgy tracks that could have quite easily hit the New Wave charts in the early 80s. They return in 2011 with the In/Out EP, a set of four catchy and infectious indie pop songs featuring lyrics that focus on topics such as “apathy, nostalgia, neuroticism, anti-religious sentiment, sex, death, ignorance, and (albeit infrequently) love.”
Almost Free are Andy Bird on vocals and guitars; Bob Impemba on bass, synth and noise; and Garren Stevens on drums. They have a disaffected take on modern life and an interesting philosophy to go along with it. Explaining the name of their band, Andy Bird asks “How can we be free if we are always chasing an intangible and subjective state of mind?”. It is a decidedly existentialist idea that we exert our freedom and act insofar as the restrictions of society allow while at the same time understanding that we are responsible for our own actions.
Almost Free comment on the boredom, malaise, monotony and conformity of modern, suburban life and the In/Out EP will appeal to fans of The Smiths, Bloc Party and Veil Veil Vanish. The EP is a snapshot into their sound and I would hope that it is followed up soon with a full length release. You can catch Almost Free performing on April 23 at the Pike Room, in Pontiac, MI.
To promote the release of the In/Out EP on June 7, 2011, Almost Free are giving away a free download of the first track on the EP:
Almost Free links:AlmostFreeMusic.net |
If you can’t wait until June for the release of the EP, you can download their album Modern Mistakes from Amazon.co.uk
* This is a legal download provided by the PR company for us to post and share. If there is any question of an infringement of copyright, please contact me at TheMediaAddict at gmail dot com and I will remove links immediately. Affiliate links are used in this post.
Article first published as Almost Free Offer Free Download on Blogcritics.
Nice song! I liked it I guess I'll start "digging" in their songs :). Call me whatever... but I also like the fact they are unsigned and this way noone can interfere with their work ;).
ReplyDeleteNot really related to this post but in the spirit of your love for great music,
ReplyDeleteNew York's answer to modern radio....
http://newyorkknowsbest.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/i-heard-it-through-the-grapevine/
A great little piece about people pushing musical boundaries :)
@ Hehe: Yeah, being signed has its benefits and drawbacks, that is for sure!
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous: Thanks for the link!